Eating the Chicken of the Woods
Entering the Mushrooms class I was a mycophagophobe; I was someone who was afraid to eat mushrooms, especially ones that I had collected. Any wild mushroom was too dangerous for me. It was not until I discovered Laetiporus sulphureus— Chicken of the Woods, that I felt comfortable enough to identify a fungus and then eat it. David Arora remarks in Mushrooms Demystified that this is one of the “foolproof four” — an unmistakable mushroom.
This large, brightly colored fungus is often found in clusters but is occasionally solitary. You may discover this mushroom during the summer and fall but rarely in winter or spring. The top surface of Chicken of the Woods is bright orange which can be either more reddish or yellowish than you see here. It tends to lighten in color near the edges. This mushroom has no gills, instead its bright yellow undersurface is covered with tiny pores. The young Chicken of the Woods is “succulent” and has a mild flavor. Older specimens tend to change color as they develop, as well as become brittle. The young mushrooms have bright yellows and oranges; in age they dull to yellow and then pure white.
A good tree can yield up to 50 pounds, but be wary of older fungi as they toughen and develop a sour flavor! If you have found a specimen worthy of collection, you can harvest the mushrooms and return the next year for another crop. Or cut just the outer edge (about 5 cm of the fungus) and return later in the season for a second helping. Be wary of Chickens growing on conifers (in the Northeast) as they are a different species and can cause poisoning. Chicken of the Woods can make a fine chicken substitute as long as you make sure to fully cook the mushroom.
Chicken of the Woods grows in trees that are either living or decaying. These mushrooms cause a reddish brown heart-rot of wood. If the mushrooms are seen fruiting, you can be sure that the fungus has already attacked the tree. They can destabilize a tree by hollowing out its center–this can be problematic for forest owners. Historically, this fungus was known to damage the wooden ships of the British Naval Fleet.
Editor’s Aside: Recent mycological detective work has revealed differences in what was once considered to be just one species–there are in fact a handful of distinct species of Laetiporus in North America.2 Tom Volk briefly reviewed them back in 2001, but be aware that many field guides haven’t caught up yet with this improved taxonomy. In our area (northeastern North America), Laetiporus huroniensis is morphologically almost identical to Laetiporus sulphureus — the two can best be distinguished by where they grow and what they grow on. The conifer-loving Laetiporus huroniensis of the Great Lakes seems to cause poisoning more often than true L. sulphureus, and may also sometimes interbreed with the latter, making it even more difficult to distinguish one species from another. In western north America, true Laetiporus sulphureus does not occur, but at least two lookalikes do: Laetiporus gilbertsonii (on eucalyptus, and more frequently implicated in poisonings) and Laetiporus conifericola (on conifers). If you are unlucky, or sensitive to whatever unidentified toxin is in these, you may experience vomiting, chills, and perhaps mild hallucinations–I haven’t heard of any deaths. Yet there are many (probably over 90% of you) who eat these species with impunity, so it’s hard to know what to advise, except caution.
Based on the texture, taste and distinctiveness, this easily identifiable group of species can be a good starting place for those who fear the wild mushroom, as I used to do. For those who have found a Chicken of the Woods and would like cook with it, here is a delicious recipe for a Polypore Omelet care of Wild Mushroom Cookery.6
POLYPORE OMELET6
3 Tablespoons butter
1 cup diced Chicken of the Woods
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cream cheese
2 or 3 shallots, diced
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
5 or 6 eggs
1/2 cup cream or half and half
Salt and pepper
- Melt the butter in a heavy frying pan over low heat.
- Beat the eggs and cream, add salt and pepper to taste; pour into the pan.
- As the eggs start to cook, sprinkle the Chicken of the Woods, cheese, shallots and parsley over the top.
- Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more until the egg mixture sets.
- Fold the omelet over and remove from the heat; cover and let sit for 1 minute.
- Arora, D. (1986) Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley.
- Burdsall, H. H. J., and M. T. Banik. (2001). The genus Laetiporus in North America. Harvard Papers in Botany 6:43-55.
- Kuo, M. (2005, March). Laetiporus sulphureus: The chicken of the woods. Retrieved from MushroomExpert.Com.
- Phillips, R. (2006) Laetiporus sulphureus. Retrieved from the rogersmushrooms.com.
- Volk, T.J. (2001) Laetiporus cincinnatus, the white-pored chicken of the woods.
- Wells, M., M. Rogers, R. Piekenbrook & D. Piekenbrook (1987). Wild Mushroom Cookery. Portland, OR: The Oregon Mycological Society.
Photo by Jeanine Moy.
Reprinted by Human Beams in The Fat Man’s Kitchen. Hey, they called us “always fascinating and entertaining!”
We take Chicken of the Woods from a mature Willow tree.I have been looking for recipes because when fried it absorbs gallons of butter !. Is their another method of cooking that wont result in a butter heart attack?
Is there some source of documentation for the concern that Laetiporus huroniensis is in some way poisonous? I have searched the internet and my limited library but all I can find are general comments to avoid eating Laetiporus that are found on conifers. I have been harvesting one from what I believe is a huge hemlock stump for the past 3 years and have been happily eating it without incident. The stump no longer has bark and I suppose it might be possible that it is not hemlock but it sits in the middle of a hemlock grove where all of the live trees are big mature hemlock and as dumb as this sounds it looks like a hemlock stump.
Hi Salvelinas, I don’t know of any published reports of toxicity. The word on the street is that people are more likely to have a bad experience with the conifer chickens–we were all delighted to discover that the conifer chickens are in fact a different species (L. huroniensis) from the more common ones on hardwoods. I doubt that any specific toxin has been isolated, but if I find out more, I’ll post it here.
We tried some of these as well as dreid’s saddle. Not bad, not a great mushroom, though a couple of our freinds cook it by boiling three minutes, then making a gardinere type topping with onions, peppers, and celery.
Copied by kind permission of Michael Jordan….
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To add a caveat, in 2004 when the current edition of the Encyclopedia of Fungi was launched at a National Trust property, to which 60 journalists were invited for lunch, there was an incident involving this species. On the day before, we had found a specimen of Laetiporus sulphureus in prime condition, on Oak, which was collected and incorporated, lightly sauteed, as part of the meal.
Approximately half an hour after ingestion, 6 of the 60 journalists became violently ill – vomiting, cyanosed, sweating, icy cold, with raised pulse, and very frightened. The remaining 54 suffered no ill effects.
The doctor who attended diagnosed a severe allergic reaction and the symptoms subsided after about 2 hours.
Subsequent investigation turned up research by a US-based toxicology team at the University of Berkeley, California. It had concluded that 10% of the people taking part in extensive trials, suffered these severe effects. Our experience was exactly in line with this figure.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that Laetiporus sulphureus growing on Taxus hosts, is potentially lethal.
MJ
__________________
Michael Jordan
CEO Association of British Fungus Groups
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PS – Taxus is the genus of yew shrubs and trees.
Interesting, Pete. Can you help us find the mentioned US tox report? Many people–probably more than 50–ate this species last year at the New York Peck Foray and didn’t see any poisonings.
I wonder if it will turn out to be a species-level difference in toxicology. I’m no expert on polypores, but I doubt your UK species is really the same as my local, eastern North American one. Even locally, we have two species, L. sulphureus and L. huroniensis (this latter one is on conifers and a more frequent poisoner). We now know that the western American species that occurs in California is not Laetiporus sulphureus, but L. conifericola…
Hello kathie,
I will try and find it. The original text was taken from this forum:
And it is this thread:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/fungi-forums/68206-laetiporus-sulphureus-chicken-woods.html
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/fungi-forums/
In the UK the only species we have is L. sulphureus – there are no others. I have eaten L. sulphureus for years with no problems. Then, a couple of years ago, I became ill after eating it with the same symptoms as described by Michael. I had eaten the same specimen a couple a days before with no issues at all. It had also been cooked in the exact same fashion. Not believing that this illness could have been caused by the mushroom I picked another a few weeks later (in good condition and growing on beech). Again, the first time I cooked it there were no problems. However, the second time I consumed it I was ill again! After this I gave up eating the thing. I have since been told that it’s possible to develop an allergy to L. sulphureus over time. It’s also possible that something in the mushroom builds up in my body, so when I eat it for a second time (soon after the first) I get poisoned.
We are edging toward resolving the species complex that is Laetiporus sulphureus. Witness this 2009 paper that suggest it includes at least 11 genetically-defined groups, worldwide. I expect that a little more study and a robust set of analyses will lead us to a much better understanding of world Laetiporus species in the near future. Stay tuned.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mycres.2008.11.009